Joseph Robert Tarczon was born on January 15, 1955, in Illinois. Shortly after he was born, he was abandoned and taken to an orphanage. A few years later, he was adopted by a couple from Chicago named the Millers. They changed his last name to Miller. His adoptive parents were very strict, and they often punished him physically. This treatment made Miller angry and led him to get into trouble.

As a young boy, he started to show signs of anger issues. He got involved in petty crimes at an early age. Between the late 1960s and 1977, he was arrested 11 times for different crimes. These included theft, carjacking, and sexual assault. Each time, he would receive short sentences after making plea deals with the prosecutors.

In the early 1970s, Miller moved away from Chicago. He lived in different places, including Bloomington, Waukegan, and even Virginia. By 1977, he settled in Skokie, Illinois. It was in Skokie that he got married to a local woman. For a time, he worked as a pizza delivery man.

Joseph Robert Miller began his criminal activities in the late 1970s. On October 25, 1977, a sex worker named Martha Ryan was reported missing. Witnesses said she was last seen with a young man driving an orange Chevrolet Vega. Eight days later, her body was found wrapped in a blanket in bushes near a liquor store in Skokie. The police connected Miller to the crime because of his car and appearance.

The body of another sex worker, Ann Iecile Maxham, was discovered soon after, leading police to investigate Miller further. A sex worker testified that Miller and his wife often hired her and that she had been with them multiple times. On November 5, 1977, Miller was arrested and charged with the murders of Ryan and Maxham.

While in custody, police searched Miller's apartment and car, finding evidence linked to more serious crimes. He was the main suspect in several other killings dating back to 1976. Due to some legal mistakes during the investigation, some evidence against him was not allowed in court. Eventually, a plea deal was offered, and Miller was sentenced to 30 years in prison for robbery, with the chance of parole after 15 years.

After serving part of his sentence, Miller was paroled in April 1993. He moved to a nursing home in Peoria, where he appeared friendly and helpful. However, in late August 1993, he began doing repairs for an elderly woman named Bernice Fagotte, who later went missing. Around the same time, three women from Peoria were found dead in a drainage ditch, all killed in violent ways.

Authorities discovered Fagotte’s car abandoned near the nursing home. Due to his past, Miller became a suspect. While being questioned by police, Miller claimed he was innocent. However, a knife with his fingerprints was found in Fagotte's car. This led to his arrest in October 1993 for burglary.

During the investigation, further evidence tied Miller to the murders of the three women. Bloodstains and personal items were discovered in his apartment. Forensic testing linked Miller's DNA to the evidence found. When confronted, he initially pleaded guilty but later claimed insanity due to a supposed mental disorder. However, the jury found him guilty of the murders and sentenced him to death.

Miller was moved to death row, awaiting execution. In 2002, the governor of Illinois put a hold on the death penalty and commuted Miller’s sentence to life without parole. He later claimed responsibility for two additional murders, but police dismissed these claims. As of June 2022, Miller continues to serve his sentence at the Dixon Correctional Center.